The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-31
Improved Methods of Butter Making.


In the earlier days of the dairy the milk was
placed in broad pans for the cream to sour" and
rise" which took thirty six hours. It was then
SKINNED off and churned into butter by the la
borious hand crank method or, on larger farms,
by horse power. To-day setting and "skim-
ming are processes too slow for the busy dairy
man, when through the application of a physical
law and the introduction of steam the can
be separated by centrifugal force. Denmark
and Sweden have produced the best ''separators'
yet made, and their Danish Weston and De La
valve machines the now in the
Delaware and Chester county farms. a steam
engine is required 70 run the separator, and is
also made to do the churning.
The separator consists of a hollow sphere of
metal, fattened above and below, set up
right shaft stem connected by sbelting with
the engine, and revolving at the rate of $500 to
1000 revolutions per minute This vessel revolves
inside OF another metal bowl, which is stationary
and fitted with two exit pipes The milk being
of heavier specific gravity than the cream IS
thrown out on the circumference of the rapidly
revolving vessel by centrifugal force, and finds
its way through small orifice on the outer edge
into the stationary bowl from whence it Is car
ried OFF by one OF the exit pipes into cans placed
to receive it.
This stationary bowl is divided by narrow
ridge of metal into an inner and outer circular
COMPARTMENT, the former receiving the cream,
which lies the center of the revolving
sphere by virtue of its lighter specific gravity.
and conveying it through the other exit pipe into
the receiving cans Not only is the cream thus
thoroughly separated from the milk by this pro-
cess. but all impurities that may be present are
The hour of milking is a busy one large
dairy farm. AS fast as the milk be brought
from the barn it is poured into the great metal
receiver above the separator, and when every
thing is ready the steam whistle blows signal
for all hands. the throttle of the engine is
opened, the separator starts revolving. and the
stop cock of the receiver is turned on to let the
milk run down into the humming sphere Soon
the white fluid comes pouring out from the pipe
in a-steady stream while from the other side
the cream begins trickiing out. All is life and
hustle In the spring house AS the cans are
filled with the cream they are placed in the cold
spring water flowing through the dairy house to
be kept COOL and a certain amount of
ficient for churning The process is called
''sourIng."
The cream, which has been kept at an
temperature and ''ripened, is placed in the
big wooden churns the betting is switched to
these and the churnng commences. AS soon rs
the oil globules begin TO break the "buttermilk"
is drawn Off The butter which has now formed
in the churns is in little particles about the size
of fish To this water is added to wash out
all butrermilk that may remain. Generally two
washings are required. The butter is now taken
ont of the churns, .'salted" and worked" in
machine called a 'bntter worker" large,
wooden circular box, around which a paddle-like
arm is moving propelled by steam. After work
minutes and is then worked again. When all
this has been accomplished and the butter has
arrived the desirable state of excellence it is
taken out. weighed, printed and ready to be
shipped for market Such IS the history of the
pound of butter that graces the table of many
Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Baltimore and
Washington bon vivant